Chapter 13

“Whew...”

Woojin let out a low breath as he reached the top of the wall. The citadel’s ramparts were quite high.

CLANG! CLATTER-CLANG!

Mostly orc archers were respawning on the ramparts, and a few people were hunting them.

‘Definitely fewer people than on the first level.’

Orcs spawned in groups of five in the main square, while archers spawned one at a time on the ramparts surrounding it. With long respawn times and so few monsters, this was hardly a good hunting ground.

It was safe, admittedly, but rather than hunt here, it seemed better to kill larger numbers of monsters a tier below.

‘More like a waiting area for people watching for a hunting spot to open up.’

Indeed, unlike the people on the first level who had paid him no attention, the hunters on the ramparts all turned wary eyes on him when he arrived.

“Hmm.”

Ignoring their looks, Woojin inspected the ruined pavilion at the end of the wall.

‘Nothing looks particularly special... But there’s still plenty of time before dawn, so who knows.’

Time and place alone surely weren’t the only conditions for the red-eyed orc to appear. Woojin felt he needed to find the remaining conditions here—the ones he didn’t yet know.

What could it be?

The final piece everyone had missed.

There were four pavilions on the citadel’s circular ramparts. Only one had been reduced to a bare framework.

‘Why was only this one destroyed?’

After inspecting the other pavilions, Woojin noticed something odd.

‘The intact pavilions don’t have one, but this one has a wooden post in the middle.’

A red post.

What had it been used for?

Woojin examined it slowly.

“Was it painted?”

The citadel itself was made of nothing more than hewn logs set upright. And orcs, with no sense of aesthetics whatsoever, had painted something?

That was strange.

“If they didn’t deliberately paint it...”

A mottled, dark red.

‘Then something must have stained it.’

Woojin cast a sidelong glance at it. The red marks on the post were none other than—

“Bloodstains.”

It happened just then.

Hearing a voice behind him, Woojin whipped his head around.

“...?”

But no one was there. Bewildered, he looked around, yet all he could see were the people hunting orc archers.

“Traces of the sacrifices the orcs hung up to drain their blood.”

The voice was close. When Woojin lowered his gaze, one side of the ruined pavilion rippled.

“Humans like you, that is.”

“...!”

A pair of eyes watched him through a gap that had opened as though space itself had been sliced apart.

“How curious. I’ve been staying in this citadel for days, but no one has shown any interest in the pavilion.”

Red robes. Short legs and thick forearms.

The husky voice told Woojin at once that this was the person he had been looking for.

“You must be Kahira.”

“... Do you know me?”

“I heard about you from the general store’s owner in Moretti. He said you were looking for unusual materials.”

“Goblin hide infused with magic...? Where in the world did you get this?”

Kahira asked with interest when Woojin took out the [Magic-Infused Goblin Hide].

‘A dwarf through and through.’

Woojin thought as he watched her eyes light up at the sight of the hide, all her earlier wariness gone.

“I killed a Goblin Lord.”

“How curious... I’ve killed a Goblin Lord myself, but it didn’t leave anything. Is that a privilege granted only to humans?”

“I doubt it. You’re probably just too strong.”

Players took it for granted that high-level characters received no loot when hunting in low-level dungeons, but NPCs had no way of knowing about such mechanics.

“Haha! Of course. The strong disturbing the waters in the domain of the weak goes against Mha’s rules.”

Kahira laughed heartily, apparently understanding what Woojin meant.

“I’d like to have armor made from this material... Would you be able to do it?”

“Hmm. It’s unusual, but the material itself isn’t high-grade. It’s still goblin hide, after all.”

She inspected the hide.

“It shouldn’t be difficult. Are you asking to commission me?”

“Yes.”

“It certainly is an interesting material... But if you heard about me from the shopkeeper, you know what I’m doing here, don’t you?”

Woojin nodded.

“You must have a good eye to have found where I was. What do you say? Will you help me? If you do, I won’t charge you for the work.”

She held out a hand to him.

DING!

At the same moment, a notification sounded.

[You have discovered a chain quest.]

[Kahira, Pilgrim of Mha → Hunting Red Eyes]

[Would you like to continue the quest?]

“Now that’s welcome news.”

Seeing the quest’s name, Woojin was inwardly cheering.

‘A hidden monster no one has ever killed.’

He was going to hunt it.

[Kahira (Lv.65) has joined you.]

And with the best possible party member, at that.

* * *

“I heard you’re looking for a rift.”

“That’s right. A gap connecting one world to another. Monsters are born there, and sometimes new races as well.”

The sun slowly began to rise over the citadel’s pavilion. The two had spent the night investigating it, but unfortunately, they had found nothing unusual apart from the blood-soaked post.

“We call it the void. Pilgrims of Mha seek out the voids hidden throughout the world.”

One world connected to another...

Woojin knew that, as an NPC, she was merely reciting the game’s lore, yet her words lingered strangely in his mind.

It couldn’t be, but he found himself wondering whether the other world he had experienced might have been something like that.

“But it looks as though today’s another bust. I’ve been here for a week now... I’m thinking we should go back to the city and rest for the day. From what you told me, you came straight to the citadel as soon as you arrived, didn’t you?”

“I did... But actually, it may become difficult to investigate the citadel after this.”

“What do you mean?”

Woojin told Kahira what he had heard in the city about [Genesis Corps].

“... They’re taking over the hunting ground?”

Her face twisted the moment she heard him.

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

Then she said aloud exactly what Woojin had been thinking. It was refreshing to hear.

“Hunting is one of the most important elements of Mha’s teachings.”

She folded her thick arms.

“Both you and your opponent stake your lives on it! It’s a sacred act because everyone is equal before death... And they intend to do whatever they please with it?”

“If every human were a pilgrim like you, things might be different... But humans are selfish creatures.”

“Hmph. Stop flattering me. Being a pilgrim isn’t anything special.”

Despite her words, Kahira seemed quite pleased.

“Don’t worry. Whoever they are, they won’t stop us from investigating the citadel.”

“Do you have a solution?”

“Of course. Pilgrims have their own ways.”

“...”

Her words were resolute, but for some reason, Woojin couldn’t quite shake his misgivings.

“Let’s head back for now. We’ll get ready and return to the citadel tonight.”

“Understood.”

The two descended from the ramparts and headed for the citadel’s entrance.

* * *

“See you this evening, then.”

Parta was quiet in the morning, unlike the evening when Woojin had arrived. Having slept rough in the citadel for days, Kahira hurried off to an inn after saying goodbye, looking eager to wash immediately.

“Well, shall I get going?”

Woojin was tired after staying up all night too, but he had something to do in Parta. He couldn’t spend the precious time left before returning to the citadel sleeping.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Woojin tapped his fingers on the wooden desk.

“Oh, my apologies.”

The dozing librarian hastily wiped their mouth and looked up at his presence.

“We don’t get many visitors here...”

Woojin had come to the library. Befitting the Dark Forest’s only city, its building stood an impressive seven stories high, packed with books.

“I’m looking for some books... Is there a way to search for related information?”

“Yes. Just enter what you’re looking for here.”

The librarian opened an old magic book and showed it to him.

[ _]

A cursor blinked on the page.

RATTLE.

Then the librarian pulled out the drawer beneath the book, revealing an old typewriter. It was dressed up convincingly as a magic book, but in practice, it was a search box.

CLACK. CLACK-CLACK.

To the typewriter’s brisk clatter, letters filled the space beside the blinking cursor.

[Sarbandin]

CLACK.

When he pressed Enter, the magic book closed on its own.

[No matching terms found.]

[Searching for books containing similar terms.]

HUMMM...

The book trembled gently. When it opened again, motes of pure white light began to drift out from its pages. They surged upward, then settled one by one on books lining the walls.

The books touched by the motes flew from their shelves and landed in front of Woojin.

‘Convenient.’

Woojin chuckled at the carefully crafted effect and looked at the stack of books. There were three in all.

‘Maybe I can find a clue in these...’

He had been worried there might be nothing at all, so this was a relief.

THUMP.

Woojin set the books down and took a seat. Just as the librarian had said, he was the only visitor there.

Then again, in a beginner area where everyone was desperate to level up quickly, oddballs who leisurely sat around reading books would hardly be common.

RUSTLE.

The sound of turning pages was pleasant. Perhaps this was the first sense of peace he had felt in [Evil Tale].

『The Light of the World』

『A Study of Essence Magic』

『A Theory of Tribal Sorcery』

Woojin read rapidly.

『The Light of the World』

The three gods who created the world.

It told the story of Rashin, god of light; Haden, god of darkness; and Mha, god of nothingness.

There was nothing particularly remarkable in it. Light had filled the world for seven days, followed by seven days of darkness. Then, after fourteen days in which nothing existed, this world, Akedonia, was created.

It was little different from the game lore on the website.

Except for one thing.

At the end of the book, he found this passage:

[Akedonia was formed from the blood of the three gods and Sarban, the first human.]

‘A similar name, but... I don’t know. It doesn’t seem all that relevant.’

Woojin opened the next book.

『A Study of Essence Magic』

[Most mages consider magic something extraordinary, but those who command gods are truly great. At the southernmost reaches, we encountered a foreign people possessing that power. They called themselves the Sarbant, the First Descendants.]

As he read the second book, Woojin’s expression grew a little tense. His gaze went to the title of the last book.

‘The first human, the First Descendants, and a foreign people...’

Unlike his initial impression that they covered unrelated subjects, the three books strangely all had a connection.

『A Theory of Tribal Sorcery』

[Using techniques passed down from antiquity, the Sarbant created a nameless god.]

“...”

After reading the last book as well, Woojin felt strange.

“A god created by humans...”

The being he had contracted with was an ancient divine beast.

‘Could it be connected to the nameless god that foreign people created?’

Everything was still unclear.

‘The north of the continent is the beginner area, where the Dark Forest is. Then comes the central continent, where the Labyrinth Tower stands.’

The foreign people had been discovered in the south. The southern part of the continent had yet to be explored at all, and was still obscured by black clouds on the world map.

‘Then why was the soul of an ancient divine beast, which should have been in the south, hidden in the Dark Forest at the northern tip?’

That would mean someone had deliberately moved it.

... But who?

“I need more information.”

Rumor had it that exploring the south required at least a second class advancement. In the end, the answer was to level up.

THUMP.

He closed the book and stood. By the time he had read a few more books, the sun was slowly beginning to set.

“There you are.”

Kahira waved to him from the square.

It was time to get moving.

* * *

“Stop right there!”

“No entry beyond this point. Go hunt somewhere else.”

On the road to the citadel, what he had feared had come to pass.

It always did.

“Are these the ones? Those lunatics you mentioned last night who intend to take over the citadel?”

Kahira asked Woojin as she looked at the two people blocking the road.

“Most likely. And they won’t be the only ones. What will you do?”

“What else? The truth always gets through.”

She walked up to the two blocking their way.

“I am Kahira, a pilgrim of Mha.”

They couldn’t hide their bewilderment when she removed her robe, revealing herself to be a dwarf.

“I have business in the citadel. Would you let us through?”

“Didn’t we warn you that entry is forbidden?”

But they paid her no heed, glaring at Kahira as they retorted.

“Not even if it kills you?”

“Of course not!”

“Hmm.”

She nodded as though she understood.

WHAM!

“...!”

At that instant, her hammer smashed into the shouting man’s head.

“Pilgrims have their own ways.”

Woojin recalled what she had said at dawn.

True to her calling as a pilgrim of the void—

THUD.

The man’s body dropped straight to the ground.

—she had sent her opponent into the void.